If you don’t have an exercise mat, then lay out a soft towel or do crunches on a carpeted floor so you’re more comfortable.
Avoid putting your hands behind your head since you could accidentally strain your next when you perform your exercise. For more resistance during your workout, hold a 5 to 10 pounds (2. 3 to 4. 5 kg) plate weight over your chest.
Avoid sitting all the way up when you perform a crunch since muscles in your back and hips will take over, and you could strain yourself. Keep your lower back, tailbone, and feet in contact with the mat at all times. If your feet lift off of the ground while you’re performing a rep, have someone hold onto your feet or position them underneath something heavy. Keep your neck relaxed instead of tucking in your chin. Try to keep an apple-sized space between your chin and your chest. Looking at the ceiling can help keep you from curling your neck too much.
If you rush into the next rep, you’ll end up using the momentum of your body moving instead of your muscles to lift yourself up. Additionally, you’re more likely to injure your back Try doing a set of 10–12 crunches to start working out your abs. As you start building up your core strength, try doing 2–3 sets or increasing the number of reps you do.
If you need extra support, stretch out your arms to each side so your body looks like the letter “T. ” Doing reverse crunches is perfect for targeting your lower ab muscles while standard crunches target your top and middle abs. They’re about the same difficulty, but they may feel a little tougher since you may not have worked your lower abs very much before.
Remember to use smooth, controlled motions as you lift your legs up. Press down on the floor with your arms to help keep your balance and maintain control.
Keep your head, upper torso, and arms firmly on the floor while you’re exercising. Press your arms down for balance, but don’t use them to power your lift. Try to focus on letting your core muscles do the work.
Keep your legs in the air if you plan on doing more reps and lower them when you’re finished. Try to do 10–12 reverse crunches at a time. If that feels easy, bump it up to 15 or 20 reps instead. Alternatively, try doing 1 set of basic crunches followed by 1 set of reverse crunches for a full core workout.
Extending your arms adds a little more weight and makes your abs work harder. For an even greater challenge, you could hold a plate weight or kettlebell in your hands.
Then, straighten your left leg as you drive your right knee toward your chest. At the same time, rotate your torso to bring your left elbow toward your right knee. Aim to do 10–12 reps for each side of your body. For a greater challenge, do interval training with bicycle crunches. Try to do as many as you can in 30 seconds before taking a 10 second rest. Mix these in with other exercises, like squats, planks, and push-ups for a balanced routine. [12] X Research source Bicycle crunches target your upper and lower abs as well as your obliques. Remember to use smooth, slow motions, and don’t yank your head or neck with your hands.
Do 10–12 crunches with your legs lowered to the left, then repeat the steps to do another set on your right side. Follow up your side crunches by doing Russian twists for an even more intense oblique workout. Side crunches help build strength and tone your side muscles that normally are targeted during standard crunches.
Exercise balls make your lower body less stable, so your abs will work extra hard to maintain your position.
Try to do 10 reps if you can, but just try to do as many as you can while maintaining slow and controlled movements. Since you have to lift your upper body up further during this exercise, there’s more resistance on your core.
Try to do about 10–12 reps using smooth, controlled motions. Pause between each rep so momentum doesn’t power your movements. Keep your neck neutral instead of tucking in your chin. Remember to keep an apple-sized space between your chin and chest. When cable crunches get easier, try increasing the weight to build more muscle or adding more reps to tone your abs.
